Indoor Or Outdoor?

FernEden

FernEden

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hello everyone!

I'm getting a pair of little girls in about a month and I'm having an absolute nightmare deciding where to keep them. I have no clue whether to keep them inside or outside and the more I research, the more confused I become.

My plan at the moment is that I have an indoor cage for them to be in for a couple of weeks while we all get used to each other and then I was going to move them to an outdoor hutch with a permanent run during the summer months so they can enjoy the fresh air and then bring them inside for winter. Is this a good idea or am I going totally the wrong way about it all?

I've got them a Ferplast Rabbit 120 at the moment and my friend is giving me a large double hutch. I've never owned piggies before so I'm sure I'm overthinking all of this but I want to make sure they're spoilt rotten with what they have access to :)

Thanks,
Fern :)
 
Hello!

I'm personally indoor all the way (however I'm aware that there are differing opinions).

Where are you based? In the UK our winter temperatures reach far lower than the would have experienced in their natural habitat, Peru is a warm country. Anything below 17 degrees is really too cold for them.

Some people keep their piggies outside in summer and bring them in for winter, you have to monitor the temperature to make sure it doesn't go above 25 degrees in summer though as that's far too hot.

I prefer to keep them indoors where it's easier to regulate the temperature (if it's too hot/cold for me it surely is for them too) and they become part of the family quicker than if they were outside. I find they bond a whole lot quicker too :)
 
Cavy Kung-Fu said:
Hello!

I'm personally indoor all the way (however I'm aware that there are differing opinions).

Where are you based? In the UK our winter temperatures reach far lower than the would have experienced in their natural habitat, Peru is a warm country. Anything below 17 degrees is really too cold for them.

Some people keep their piggies outside in summer and bring them in for winter, you have to monitor the temperature to make sure it doesn't go above 25 degrees in summer though as that's far too hot.

I prefer to keep them indoors where it's easier to regulate the temperature (if it's too hot/cold for me it surely is for them too) and they become part of the family quicker than if they were outside. I find they bond a whole lot quicker too :)
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I'm in Wiltshire in the UK so I was worrying a bit about this sudden hot weather we're getting. I was going to bring them in during winter anyway but thought it would be nice for them to be able to munch on grass all day during summer while I'm at work. I wish there was just a yes or no answer instead of finding what fits for me haha. Maybe it'll be a lot of trialling for a while to see how it goes. Even if they were inside, they'd be in the spare room and I'd given them the run anyway so they'd have plenty of room
 
FernEden said:
I'm in Wiltshire in the UK so I was worrying a bit about this sudden hot weather we're getting. I was going to bring them in during winter anyway but thought it would be nice for them to be able to munch on grass all day during summer while I'm at work. I wish there was just a yes or no answer instead of finding what fits for me haha. Maybe it'll be a lot of trialling for a while to see how it goes. Even if they were inside, they'd be in the spare room and I'd given them the run anyway so they'd have plenty of room
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Haha if only it were that simple! Also I'd probably be slapped for saying no outdoors :P

I'd make sure the run is fox proof and has a lid, basically predator proof of you'll be leaving them in it. I'd build up the grass intake as too much too soon can cause tummy and gas problems. My pigs have 2-4 hours on the grass per day, normally about 3ish when I'm cleaning them out.

I personally can't leave mine unattended as I worry a lot about all the cats and foxes etc in my area.
 
Personally, inside :) I would worry far too much if they were outside!

Even in this warm spell, I think it is easier keeping them cool indoors than outdoors. Mine are in an enclosure in a South facing room but, with the curtains drawn all day, we manage to keep it quite cool.

I too never leave them unattended in the run outside, far too scary for me!
 
Hello :) Welcome to the forum.

The age old question and there is no right or wrong. Some people have piggies outside in hutches and bring them in during winter months. Others have amazing piggy sheds that are ventilated and heated and pigs stay in there all year round.... I'll try and find a few links in a bit to them. Others like myself got addicted to having them living inside with us. I like the fact I can glance across and see what they are up too, I would miss them if they weren't in the living room with us now for sure .

If you go outside then things you'll have to think about is mainly the weather, winter would mean really bringing them in if possible if not lots of insulation but you have to be careful too in the Summer like a few weeks ago when we had that heatwave in the UK. Heat can kill as much as cold when it comes to small furries. Another thing is making sure hutch and run (especially if you aren't there to supervise them out on grass is predator proof) Foxes and other predators are very cunning and capable at getting into things - but there are lots of posts on the forum discussing predator proofing in the Housing section.

Sorry I haven't really helped there have i.....

Lee
 
Mine are indoors but I have no outside areas (I live in a flat) so had no choice :lol!:

I love having them indoors. They feel a part of the family and I interact with them so much, all day. I'd miss them so much if they were outside.
 
A pair of my Guinea pigs live outside in a hutch in the warmer months
And I bring them inside in the winter,

But my newer girls and Baby are all inside full time at the moment, because Baby got poorly and I wasn't sure if the new girls had been outside before, so to be safe I just kept all three inside till I'm sure they will be ok outside.
I don't know about other people but when I put mine outside to live, I make sure it's a good weathered day, so they are warm and they get used to the temperature drop overnight.

I think it depends on your personal situation(if you have space) and the Guinea Pigs themselves.

I prefer to have them outside in the warmer months because get a lot of fresh air that way :) but inside in the winter! Incase that get poorly! I've heard horror story's of Guinea pigs dying in the first frost of the year :/ :/
 
Mine are indoors, but then again I'm in Canada, so keeping them outdoors is just not an option for most of the year (our winters are far too cold for pigs to live outdoors or even in a shed unless it was fully insulated and heated.) I do put them outside in a run so they can graze and enjoy the outdoors when it's seasonal, but I keep an eye on them, as the cover they are in out there is not even close to predator-proof so they need someone to keep an eye on them.

Personally I like having them indoors because they are very used to us and we get to interact with them a lot. They are very much part of the household. But I'm sure there are benefits to the outdoors too that I don't know because it's not an option for us.
 
I like to sit with them and hand-feed in the morning and you can't really do that if it's raining and they're outside, so you probably get a better bond with them inside.
 
As I have quite a lot of piggies they have their very own shed, which is fully insulated with kingspan. It is well ventilated and in winter is heated and dehumidified. In fact it is kept warmer than my house! On good weather days in the warmer months they go out on the grass in runs. If I only had two piggies I would probably keep them indoors to enjoy their company in a nice c&c set up.

If you do decide to keep them outside in summer make sure everything is fox proof and locate the hutch in a sheltered spot out of the sun. In direct sun the inside of a hutch can heat up like a little oven.

When you bring them in for the winter it is important they come in for the whole winter and are not popped in and out or just brought in at night, as they wont cope with the temperature fluctuations.
 
My first piggies started off being outdoor but I felt I didn't see them very often and when I brought them in as the summer ended, I never went back. They are part of the family and they live inside with us so we can interact with them a lot.
 
My two sows are indoors and have loads of hand picked grass to munch on.

I have four rabbits that live in a well insulated shed with a run outside. I get so much more interaction with the guinea pigs. The rabbits are not keen on human company and LOVE to be outside. I LOVE having the guinea pigs close by!

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Thanks for all the replies! I'm going to keep the girlies inside for a while to bond with them and then I'll see how I feel. I'm being given the hutch so it won't be a waste of money if I don't use it. I suppose it's just personal preference, I just want the best for the piggies and because this is my first time owning them I'm just overthinking everything haha
 
Mine are outside piggies. The hutch gets VERY well wrapped up in bubble wrap for the winter and I go through twice the amount of hay in the winter months too to keep them warm. I don't have room inside to keep them as I have 5. Bought 2 and it was buy 2 get 3 free that day as Velvet had a surprise shop litter. Didn't know about rescues then!
 
Betsy said:
Mine are outside piggies. The hutch gets VERY well wrapped up in bubble wrap for the winter and I go through twice the amount of hay in the winter months too to keep them warm. I don't have room inside to keep them as I have 5. Bought 2 and it was buy 2 get 3 free that day as Velvet had a surprise shop litter. Didn't know about rescues then!
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I think outside for summer is going to be my best bet, it got really warm in the UK yesterday and the room they'd be kept in got really warm and stuffy so I think they'd be better outside at the moment. I'll just have to get creative with some cooling down toys :)
 
Mine are indoor pigs, but go out with us when the weather is nice. We enjoy eating and reading in the garden, and they're always with us: inside when we're inside, and outside when we're outside. The weather here would be too harsh (very cold winters, very hot summers) for them to be outside full-time, and are definitely comfortable in an air-conditioned room. But they also enjoy very much being outside
 
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